Vehicles are, by and large, manufactured in large dedicated premises which take delivery of most of the various components and assemble them using a production line so as to produce the finished vehicle. Some components may be manufactured at the same location, especially components that are bespoke to that vehicle (or a small number of vehicles) such as the floorpan, chassis and body panels.
The finished vehicle must then be transported to the consumer who will be typically some distance away, possibly in a different continent. A journey of thousands or tens of thousands of kilometers is by no means unusual, and large container ships may be employed in order to transport the assembled vehicles. Typically, one or perhaps two passenger vehicles can fit into a single 20-foot shipping container, or two to three in a 40-foot container. Where the consumer is located on the same continent, land transportation may be employed including car transporters travelling by either road, or rail, or a combination of both.
Some passenger vehicles are supplied in kit form, usually recreational vehicles. The best-known such vehicle is the Caterham Seven; this was originally offered in kit form for taxation reasons but has become well-known as a kit suitable for home assembly by enthusiasts. The Seven is supplied as a complete chassis and bodyshell to which the wiring loom and brake lines have been attached, in combination with an engine, differential, wheels, exhaust and body trim which are all supplied loose, and a number of separate boxes containing the other parts necessary to build the car. The kit is delivered in a 7.5-tonne truck, one kit per journey, with the chassis/bodyshell in the loadspace of the truck surrounded by the other elements.
Large commercial vehicles such as trucks are usually delivered individually by driving them on the road under their own power, or by carrying them on rail cars. Delivery by road would be unacceptable in the case of passenger vehicles as the car would then be considered second-hand by the customer. Smaller commercial vehicles such as vans are typically delivered in the same way as passenger vehicles.